There was a blur of movement then Gethin’s human form blinked at him. “I could hear you thinking. They felt like big thoughts. Are you all right?” He looked at Sorley with raised eyebrows. “You’re also overdressed.”
* * *
Under the sprayof the shower some time later, Sorley confessed his thoughts. Gethin kissed him deeply, then repeated his previous conviction that Sorley had no need to fear for his immortal soul. Mollified, because Gethin had a way about him that helped to banish the shadows in the dark recesses of Sorley’s mind, he packed his things and stowed them in the hallway ready for dusk.
He could hear Marlowe bickering with Edwin over who would drive. Edwin was insisting that an immortal with literally perfect eyesight and lightning reflexes was preferable to a vulnerable human, Marlowe arguing equally insistently that as a vulnerable human he was much less likely to take risks, and that unlike Edwin, it was improbable he would walk away from an accident unscathed.
Sorley, who could admit to himself even if to no one else he wasn’t a great driver, wondered who would win the argument. He sought out Alec, who he found in the library, almost buried in a massive ancient book with yellowed pages and the comforting aroma of age.
Alec gave him a warm smile and patted the empty chair beside him. “How is Gethin?”
Sorley sighed. “Perfect. Possibly literally. It’s sickening.”
“You are a lucky man. He is, I think, one of the only people who could see through the mirrors you hold up to the world and see the man behind the illusions.” He smiled gently. “Apart from me, of course.”
Sorley elbowed him. “It would have been a lot less complicated with you,” he said eventually. “Why couldn’twefall in love?”
Alec closed the book and fixed Sorley with his dark eyes. “Because, mon ami, you were waiting for your soul mate. How are you still so blindly unaware of this? Gethin is the other half of you—”
“My better half, you mean,” Sorley interrupted.
Alec tched. “Non, I do not mean that. You are too negative. This is not a good trait. I simply mean it is obvious to everyone, supe or human, that you two belong together. Embrace this gift, and thank the universe for him every day. Or every night.” He cracked a soft grin. “You have been blessed, Sorley. Remember that. Not everyone is as lucky.”
“I wish you had someone to love you the way you deserve.”
“Bah, be quiet. Who says I even want anyone? I am a solitary man, content to spend months at a time alone. What would I do with a partner, or a mate? Sometimes, chéri, you talk nonsense. It is a very good thing I love you so much, to put up with your ramblings.” His warm smile returned. “The sun is about to set. We should take our leave of Dalziel and head south. Come, put this book back for me first. Your long arms don’t even have to stretch.”
37
GETHIN
Gethin didn’t like sharingSorley’s flat with Edwin and Marlowe. Alec somehow didn’t feel like an imposition, but even with the others stowed in the basement, their presence was an itch he wasn’t able to fully scratch. He wondered idly if he was jealous of any past Sorley had with Edwin: he had one with Alec too but somehow that didn’t matter. Feeling uneasy around Marlowe was easier to explain. The mage’s scent upset his mate, ergo it upset him too.
To add insult to injury, both men were going out of their way not to be a nuisance, which made his irritation with them even more frustrating. He growled to himself and continued rearranging Sorley’s wardrobe and cupboard space. It felt amazing to see their jeans and jumpers taking up space on the same shelf, their shirts mingling on Sorley’s matching hangers. Sorley had urged Gethin to do whatever he wanted to make the flat feel more like his own home. “Because it’s yours as much as it’s mine now,” he’d said, his eyes flaring with a possessiveness that made Gethin quite heady.
He made a mental note to order some new trousers. He wasn’t and hadn’t ever been a vain man, but something wasn’t right. Every pair was either baggy on the thighs or loose around the waist. He’d just been too distracted with the world being turned up to a thousand per cent since his turning to have paid it proper attention. Puzzled, he went to find Sorley.
“Have I suddenly lost a crazy amount of weight in strange places, or is there any chance your tumble dryer has somehow stretched my jeans? None of them fit right anymore.”
All five men ended up in the bedroom, with the four insisting on inspecting first the articles of clothing and then Gethin wearing them.
“It’s you, not the clothes,” Alec said finally. “Your shape has…” He frowned and tried again. “I think becoming a vampire has streamlined you, for want of a better word. As a wolf you had bulk to you, which I presume was part of your strength, and perhaps your designation as an alpha. You do not require that in order to be even stronger as your vampire self. The magic will have decided.”
Gethin gaped at him. “Some magical genetic fuckery has decided what I shouldlooklike?”
“It’s not a looks thing, it just has that side-effect,” Edwin chirped. “Like hair on your head is somehow never any different when you’re changed, but if it’s, uh, extreme down below, it seems to choose a middle path. And not one you can change either.”
“I beg your pardon?” He must be hearing things.
“No massive bush or Brazilians.” Sorley shrugged. “I don’t make the rules.” He huffed. “At least we’re not fashion dolls, all trade mark and nowt else. That would make eternity a pretty terrible proposition.”
All of them laughed, although Marlowe also looked a bit freaked out. Gethin had to remember the mage was human, ish — because he wasn’t convinced mages were fully human — and try to be inclusive.
He shook his head. “So I might as well order new clothes as I won’t ever make this lot fit me properly is what you’re saying?”
Sorley beamed at him. “We can go late night shopping, and hallelujah, I shall veto any bad decisions.”
Gethin growled. Sorley smiled wider. “Babe, one of us in this relationship has amazing taste in clothes. I’ll give you a clue, it’s not you.”
